


Modification of a Killing Curse by use of Venari.

by Calleo



Series: Magical Theory [3]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Avada Kedavra, Gen, Magical Theory (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic Employee Harry Potter, Spell Creation (Harry Potter), The Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter) is Terrible, Unforgivable Curses (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24479785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calleo/pseuds/Calleo
Summary: Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Series: Magical Theory [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2010046
Kudos: 1





	1. Working Theory

##  Preface: I have no intentions of taking Director Yandle’s ( [@directoryandle](https://tmblr.co/m5s__7uw8kAl-EEFzDKxhJQ) ) suggestion to test, in reality, whether it would be possible to have a killing curse attached to a [_Venari_](http://calleo-bricriu.tumblr.com/post/178556345563/revisions-on-venari) follow someone through apparation or a portkey.

Taking into consideration that the _[Venari](http://calleo-bricriu.tumblr.com/post/178556345563/revisions-on-venari) _is capable of following a target through both things, we are going to with the assumption that it is theoretically possible, but implausible and too dangerous to test.

The risk of killing the target is far too high and, while that would be the intent in practise, in testing, it’s still illegal to purposely kill someone–unless you work for the Department of Mysteries, which I do not.

Now that that’s out of the way, we’ll move on.

There are two main issues to contend with when adding a _Venari_ to a killing curse, the most prominent being that the killing curse is highly resistant to modifications of any kind and the second being that it requires nearly all of a caster’s concentration to keep the two spells from ripping apart.

The cast pattern for a killing curse, if done correctly and precisely, is simple, and contains two very small ‘hooks’ in the movement at the start of the cast and two at the end. These are not required for the curse to work, and most people who use it more than likely do not add in the hooks as they are not looking to modify the curse, they are simply looking to kill something with it.

Attempts to add additional or larger hooks to increase stability caused the curse to fail.

However, when modified, one is able to attach prefix charms to it. **[1]**

  
When performed by a caster of sufficient skill, doing this makes the curse require a high level of concentration to keep it from flying off course and missing its target or hitting unintended targets instead. This is due, as mentioned previously, to the curse’s resistance to being modified.

The 'hooks’ that can be put onto it are barely noticeable and do not provide solid anchor points for a prefix charm and the caster has to compensate for that by manually keeping the prefix charm from becoming disconnected in the process.

While this works, it leaves the caster open to attack as any break in the concentration will very likely result in a miss and, even for those of us who are adept at handling multiple spells in quick succession or even at the same time, the level of mental control it requires to modify a killing curse and keep it accurate is enough that it would be rare for someone to be able to keep control of it while also defending themselves against attack.

In theory, it’s possible. In practise, it’s highly unlikely and anyone trying to send a killing curse with a chaser attached to it would more than likely need others around them to defend them until the curse either hit its target or until the _Venari_ was disarmed and the curse hit something else.

If the caster is sufficiently skilled and quick enough, the _Venari_ can be removed and the caster can re-gain control of the curse and aim it elsewhere. It should be noted that this curse, at its base, will travel in a straight line and if you want to redirect it in a different direction to avoid hitting the thing it was chasing, it requires a great deal of quickness and control to move it.

One area of interest I found in testing is that, while the _Venari_ is active and attached, it will chase the target behind objects, into ditches or holes, through closed doors–in that case, it simply wiggles its way through the space between the door and the frame, no matter how minuscule that space may be–through closed windows as it just goes straight through the glass as though it were not even present, and it is inescapable.

**The chase will end one of three ways:**

  
1) The caster loses concentration. Concentration must be actively broken, typically through loss of consciousness. Simply putting them in a full body bind will not break concentration if the skill of the caster is decent enough.

2) The target or someone else notices what’s happening and hits the pair with _Finite Incantatem_ ; this ends the _Venari_ , and the killing curse will continue on whatever trajectory it had prior to the prefix charm ending. At this point, the target will be able to dodge or duck behind a solid object and the curse will end itself on impact.

3) The target is killed.

**This was tested in a variety of situations:**

  
1) Against an object I charmed to zip around a room in random patterns. In this case, the curse was not able to catch up with it and I ended it after about an hour.

2) Against an inanimate object transfigured into a mouse. This method removes the need for testing on a live target however, like a living target, the transfigured target will eventually get tired. This method ended in the 'death’ of the object.

3) Against a dummy target charmed to zip around and, at inconsistent intervals, cast _Finite Incantatem_ at the curse chasing it. When it did not miss, the charm was ended, and the curse slammed either into the dummy if it did not get out of the way quickly enough or into the wall.

4) Against a wolpertinger. In this case, the animal was sufficiently agile to continue dodging both on the ground and in the air and, when it began to show signs of fatigue, I ended the _Venari_ and quickly re-aimed the curse into the ground.

5) Against a Golden Snitch. The ball, not the bird. That would have been a Snidget and would have been _highly_ illegal as that species of bird is protected by law. While the Snitch was rather good at avoiding the curse for awhile, it was eventually caught and destroyed on impact.

Overall, modification of a killing curse to attach a _Venari_ is possible but generally speaking also impractical to be of any use outside of a training situation.

[1] See: [_Expandi Manus._](https://vogelchen.com/post/172037995363/expandi-manus)


	2. Revision.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

A killing curse prefixed with Venari, Expandi Manus, or both will follow a target if that target disapparates.

  
This was confirmed by Director Yandle reading the original paper, walking into my office, and giving me until the count of four before casting under the assumption that I would be fast enough to both disapparate into a different area of the archives, disarm the Venari (and, if he'd attached Expandi Manus, which he did not, that as well), and physically dodge the curse.

  
The fact that this revision exists is proof that it does, in fact, follow the target through disapparation when modified with Venari.

  
I make no apologies for the terseness of this revision and, in the same breath, hold no ill will against my department director for ignoring the fact that I had tested the same thing in a similar fashion with inanimate objects and a portkey.

  
Which reminds me, it will follow the target through portkey use on a live target as well.

  
Thank you _again_ to Director Yandle for taking sound working theory that did not need to be tested in practise and _doing so regardless._


End file.
